I7 or i5

[CJF4x]

i just started to use 3ds max, im doing simple animations and modeling. do i need the i7 or i5. i wont be rendering 100's of frames on my computer, since i can take it to school to do that, so is it really unnecessary that i get an i7 for those reasons. i want to save as much money as i can.

And will i really need to have HT if im just going to render 1 or 2 frames. How much longer does rendering take without HT? does your graphics card help out in rendering too, im going to be getting the 660ti.

 

[cl-scott]

It's not necessary, but over time I would imagine you will find that the complexity of your work is increasing, and thus over time the little extra "oomph" provided by the i7 might come in handy.

 

[CJF4x]

at my school we are using an i7 860 2.93ghz and a 5000 series card, will the 3570k and 660ti be any better?

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Using an Intel® Core™ i7 may add 10% to 15% in additional performance due to the hyper-threading based on the application. So do you need an Intel Core i7? No but it can help but if you are on a budget I would go with the Intel Core i5-3570K and a good video card.

The Intel Core i7-860 is a 4 core/8 thread processor, so it really comes down to the application and the advantage it can take of the hyper-threading.

 

[scottiemedic]

Go for the i7, take advantage of the HT. Not many programs can actually use them to the full extent (like games and such, it may be a bit of an exaggeration, and probably more than 'not many', but you catch the drift), 3ds is something that actually CAN take advantage of HT. Even 10-15% over a couple years of rendering will make a huge difference.

If you were the occasional renderer, or did it for hobby, then maybe the i5 would be better, but the last thing you want to do is get late on a project, not have the time to take the poject to school or have enough time to render at home.

Although it's nice your school provides decent rigs for animation rendering, I'd MUCH rather be sitting on my couch watching cartoons, porn, Discovery, anything, than sitting at school waiting for animation rendering! And, are you sure you'll always have a free computer in the lab when everyone's assignments are due at the same time, or other classes have an assignment?

Overkill isn't a bad word, more of a preparation for future needs...

 

[CJF4x]

i want to spend under $800 on all parts besides my gpu, it the asus 660 ti. so if all i do is what to model on this computer and take it to school to render, would it be better to go with the 3570k rather than the 3770

 

[amuffin]

3770 would probably be the most efficient CPU compared to the 3570K.

I would go with Fermi cards (GTX 4xx/5xx) instead of the 660ti for rendering.